Once on board, a cruise ship is a wonderfully relaxing holiday with countless activities on board to while away the hours, however, with so many passengers on board, queues can be long.

For those about to embark on their first cruise, experts have revealed a list of things not to do, such as not leaving your extra bookings until the last minute.

However, for some, this is not always possible and the race is on come departure day to jump to the front of the queue.

Although cruise ships are large, the sheer volume of passengers on board can make checking in passengers a logistical nightmare.

In an attempt to ease boarding and waiting times, Princess Cruises are set to trial a new priority boarding scheme.

The cruise line is piloting the program to start by running on three Ruby Princess cruises between the first and 25 of March.

This would mean that those boarding first can enjoy front of queue privileges at the buffet lunches and would receive time to explore the ship before the hallways fill up.

So how can you blag yourself priority boarding?

In a statement the cruise line revealed to Cruise Critic that the test price per cabin will set you back a little over £35.

This covers all cabin occupants with each passenger in the cabin receiving the additional benefits of priority boarding.

Priority boarding is already available for loyalty members and frequent Princess cruise Customers.

Passengers with a Princess Elite and Platinum status will still be the first to set foot on board as their charges are considerably higher than £35 per cabin.

When speaking to Cruise Critic, a spokesman for the cruise line explained: “Princess Advance Boarding is being offered as an option for those who want the added convenience of boarding a little earlier.

“There is no impact to our loyalty members and those who already have the priority boarding benefits. These guests will still board first; the Princess Advance guests will board after them.”

This is just a trial, as with the majority of pilot programs the popularity will be determined and the prices may change. Although, if successful the cruise may choose to roll the program across all fleets.

Having realised their deals in February, the cruise line is offering passengers sale princes until 24 April meaning customers are able to save up to 40 per cent on cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, and Japan.